Threatened to break 12-year-old’s legs

While he was in a children’s home a young man twice threatened to break the legs of a 12-year-old boy who also stayed there, Banbridge Magistrates Court heard last Thursday.

Mark Girvan (18), Edenderry Road, Banbridge, admitted two charges of common assault on July 29 and August 8 this year.

The court heard that police were called to the Edenvilla children’s home in Banbridge where a 12-year-old boy claimed that Girvan had assaulted him.

On the first occasion he had grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against a wall before threatening to break his legs.

On the second date he again made a threat to break the victim’s legs.

A barrister representing the defendant said this was his first foray into the adult court.

He added that Girvan had moved out of the children’s home so there was no chance of this happening again.

The barrister said that his client realised that having graduated to the adult court there were greater sentencing powers.

District Judge Eamonn King told Girvan he had previously been given youth court conferences to help him make better decisions but once he turned 18 that support disappeared and it was up to him to take on his own responsibility.

“You need to make the right decisions rather than the wrong decisions,” the judge told him.

He asked Girvan to think how he would feel if he was confronted by someone who was bigger, older and stronger and were threatened.

Girvan agreed he would feel vulnerable.

For each of the two offences Judge King imposed a conditional discharge for 12 months.